CARSON, Calif. – When LA Galaxy II head coach Mike Munoz describes his LA Galaxy II squad, the club’s new boss sounds more like a science teacher than a soccer coach.
Munoz implores his players to improve their problem-solving abilities and asks them to experiment on their path to personal and professional growth. The 33-year-old's academic approach is not surprising seeing as he will be entrusted with leading a new age of Galaxy II that will emphasize youth development above all.
For the new Galaxy II boss, the soccer field will become a “laboratory” as he looks to find the “right formula” to help players progress to the first team.
“It’s making our players understand that wins and losses are somewhat secondary to this project and whether they play or not, is also secondary,” Munoz told LA Galaxy Insider.
“We want them to take the approach of improving every single day and learn what it takes to become a pro and get to the first team. That’s a daily evolution regardless of what happens on the weekend. It’s difficult because everyone sees wins and losses and whether they play or not, but we want them to try to understand the bigger picture.”
Such a tectonic shift in philosophy had always been in the cards for Galaxy II, but the move was accelerated last winter when head coach Curt Onalfo was appointed to lead the first team. Munoz, the team's Academy Director who previously served as a U-16/U-18 Academy coach, was tabbed to replace the former Galaxy II boss and embark upon the project’s next stage.
In addition to leading the Galaxy’s academy, Munoz also completed the elite Formation Coaching License administered by the French Football Federation which aided significantly in his scholarly approach to the game.
“The most important thing that I learned was to get players to understand situations, and phases then get them to collectively solve the problem. I don’t want to be the coach that needs to solve the problem for them. They will be tasked with scenarios where they must come up with the answer,” Munoz said. “This way it becomes evident who can think and who can realize these moments. It’s going to be a long process because kids aren’t used to that. Kids in soccer are used to being told what to do and decision making changes at the pro level.
“There is very little that a coach can do in a game which is why they have to make those decisions and go together. That’s what we’re trying to do. We are breaking the mold of what they have been taught in the past, and it’s going to take some time to get there, but once we get there, then we’ll have more complete players than we have had in the past.”
The next phase in the Galaxy’s grand second team experiment will begin on Saturday when Los Dos host Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 at the StubHub Center Track and Field Stadium in the 2017 USL season opener. Munoz describes the process as his “biggest challenge yet” but admits that he is excited to embark on a new learning experience with his players.
“We’re going to need tests every single weekend against grown older men. We need to continue to put themselves in tough situations with great adversity,” Munoz said. “The most important thing for us to have the balance from success and failing that they’re going to learn from. That’s the only way that they’re going to make it and get better.
“We will have more Academy kids getting real opportunities, and Galaxy II will be looking young. It’s an exciting phase on my end because all the hard work that our academy staff has put into it, we’re now going to see the fruits of our labor and realize that it’s becoming real for our kids to step into a professional environment and see what it means to make it.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him atLAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
